.... I love the look of stitches, the way thread marries the fabric ....

Friday, October 16, 2015

Project - a Coat!

I popped into our local fabric store the other day, with a firm resolve to just buy buttons for the shirt I finished, and a spool of white thread for some other shirts planned.

But wouldn't you know it, I passed by a table of boiled wool coatings, gorgeous stuff and I simply could not resist. My first choice would have been red, but there was only a burgundy colour which just seemed dull. However, there was a brilliant royal blue and, with only a brief second thought, I bought 3 metres of it, plus got the Kasha lining and thread and picked up this pattern as well. I have tons of coat patterns, and only went to the catalog to check the yardage but this seemed like a classic style that would work really well with boiled wool.

I stopped in again yesterday and bought hair canvas, as I plan on tailoring this the traditional way. A fabric like boiled wool deserves your best effort and my experience with heavier fusible interfacings leaves much to be desired. They probably would not adhere well to a nubby surface like boiled wool. So I will use hair canvas, pad stitching it lightly over the centre front piece and on the collar to make a nice curved fold over.

I am so looking forward to this project. Tomorrow I plan on cutting out all the pattern pieces and constructing a muslin. I am not going to take any chances with this one. It has set me back quite a bit money-wise (close to $200) so it is worth doing it really well. I am going to make view D, which is just above knee length and I think I will make the patch pockets, as one review said the inseam pockets are very small due to their position in the coat. I need good pockets in my coats.

It has been quite a while since I made a coat and jackets and coats are my favourite projects. I have been inspiring myself with Tany's blog, http://tanysewsandknits.blogspot.ca/. She has made many wonderful coats and has several tutorials on a variety of sewing techniques. I will be checking out her posts on hair canvas once I reach that point.